ATHENS—Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is seeking additional information to learn more about the practice of hand fishing for catfish in the state. Also known as noodling or grabbling, hand fishing was legalized in Texas in 2011.

“Because it is so new to our state, we are hoping to identify who hand-fishing anglers are and what their needs may be,” said Kris Bodine, a TPWD fisheries research biologist. “TPWD will be conducting a survey over the next 60 days to better understand the needs, opinions and characteristics of hand-fishing anglers in Texas.”